On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex Networks

Considerable effort has been devoted to the study of network structures and connectivity patterns and their influence on network dynamics. A widely used assumption in network analysis models is that traffic follows the shortest paths connecting pairs of nonneighboring vertices. For example, graph ce...

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Main Author: Hend Alrasheed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2021-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9500207/
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author Hend Alrasheed
author_facet Hend Alrasheed
author_sort Hend Alrasheed
collection DOAJ
description Considerable effort has been devoted to the study of network structures and connectivity patterns and their influence on network dynamics. A widely used assumption in network analysis models is that traffic follows the shortest paths connecting pairs of nonneighboring vertices. For example, graph centrality measures, community extraction algorithms, and core-periphery detection algorithms use this assumption. However, this is a very restricted perspective and can be misleading as a consequence of its focus on shortest path communications. In this work, we study the utilization of shortest paths in complex networks in different data dissemination scenarios. We also explore whether there are general properties that can make networks utilize shortest paths more effectively. By conducting simulations on a set of real-world and artificial networks, we show that the utilization of shortest paths in complex networks may not be as common as assumed. This implies that longer paths can be as important (in some cases) as the shortest paths. Our results show that at least two factors clearly influence shortest path utilization in a network: the structure of the network and the data dissemination algorithm. We also find that the type of a network is not a good indicator of its shortest path utilization.
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spelling doaj.art-24417a7175424443a0a0f0a0c0f4e2362022-12-22T03:47:00ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362021-01-01911098911100410.1109/ACCESS.2021.31011769500207On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex NetworksHend Alrasheed0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-5926Department of Information Technology, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaConsiderable effort has been devoted to the study of network structures and connectivity patterns and their influence on network dynamics. A widely used assumption in network analysis models is that traffic follows the shortest paths connecting pairs of nonneighboring vertices. For example, graph centrality measures, community extraction algorithms, and core-periphery detection algorithms use this assumption. However, this is a very restricted perspective and can be misleading as a consequence of its focus on shortest path communications. In this work, we study the utilization of shortest paths in complex networks in different data dissemination scenarios. We also explore whether there are general properties that can make networks utilize shortest paths more effectively. By conducting simulations on a set of real-world and artificial networks, we show that the utilization of shortest paths in complex networks may not be as common as assumed. This implies that longer paths can be as important (in some cases) as the shortest paths. Our results show that at least two factors clearly influence shortest path utilization in a network: the structure of the network and the data dissemination algorithm. We also find that the type of a network is not a good indicator of its shortest path utilization.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9500207/Influence maximization (IM) modelnetwork analysisnetwork distance propertiesnetwork structureshortest pathssmall-world phenomenon
spellingShingle Hend Alrasheed
On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex Networks
IEEE Access
Influence maximization (IM) model
network analysis
network distance properties
network structure
shortest paths
small-world phenomenon
title On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex Networks
title_full On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex Networks
title_fullStr On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex Networks
title_full_unstemmed On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex Networks
title_short On the Utilization of Shortest Paths in Complex Networks
title_sort on the utilization of shortest paths in complex networks
topic Influence maximization (IM) model
network analysis
network distance properties
network structure
shortest paths
small-world phenomenon
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9500207/
work_keys_str_mv AT hendalrasheed ontheutilizationofshortestpathsincomplexnetworks